Some of us heard about it for a living. It doesn't particularly lend itself to this format.

--------------It is as though I had read a divine text, written into the world itself, not with letters but rather with essential objects, saying:
Man, stretch thy reason hither, so thou mayest comprehend these things. Johannes Kepler

I still have quite a lot of pain and stiffness in my left leg and am unable to fully bend or extend it and I limp a lot and have resorted to a cane on occasion. I am pretty sure I have a damaged Patella Tendon, also known as "Jumpers Knee". https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/jumpers-knee.html

I played basketball up until a year or so ago and recall having issues with it about 4 years ago while playing. Hopefully I won't need surgery and can rehab though PT, massage, stretching, and probably a cortizone or steroid injection.

Unfortunately none of the 5 doctors I have seem came up with that diagnosis. Now I am in Idaho, but fairly close to eastern wa, so I need to find a joint specialist in this area as well as a regular doctor.

--------------Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.

No MRI, I have been trying to get one, but the doctors seem to want to try everything else before ordering one. I suppose because of the cost. I wish that an MRI was as easily performed and as cost effective as an x ray, I suppose that someday they will be. I am now in NW Idaho for the winter so I need to have my records transferred and find a doctor in my area if I want to pursue further treatment.

"The main symptom of patellofemoral arthritis is pain. Because the patellofemoral joint is in front of the knee, you may have pain in this area.".

I don't have pain in my kneecap, (although I still have swelling)... my pain is below the knee on the left side (left knee) about halfway down my leg, which from what I have gathered is the Patella tendon. During the last 2-3 years toward the end of a hike, I would feel pain and tightness in that area, but was not severe or lasting. While in Idaho in late August I hiked to Hunt lake, which involves a lot of rock hopping. The next day I was limping a bit and has continued to bother me since. I was also very active during the weeks leading up to the hike.

I don't have pain in my kneecap, (although I still have swelling)... my pain is below the knee on the left side (left knee) about halfway down my leg, which from what I have gathered is the Patella tendon.

Joe, if I understand this correctly, you mean the lateral (outer) side of the lower leg. That would be the tibialis anterior muscle, not the patellar tendon (ligament) . The tib anterior mm is one commonly overstrained, saw it a lot in my practice. It can also act up after one episode of sustained exercise after a long time of inactivity. Quick way to check that out is to have someone press somewhat deeply on the muscle and slowly slide up toward the knee, while you flex and point your foot. If that's painful, your tib anterior is strained, in addition to whatever else ails your knee.

BTW - great link in your subsequent post re the weird case of psoriatic arthritis after the wasp sting. Especially of interest due to the mention of "beekeeper's arthritis" - the alternative medicine people are big on honeybee venom as an antidote to arthritis (despite zero clinical trial evidence of this).

I heard about this on NPR a few years ago: Nature: The development of allergic inflammation

Thanks for that scholarly article link, Steve; gonna bookmark that one. A key point in the article re the "hygiene hypothesis":

Quote:

This hypothesis is based on the observation that, as living standards advance, there is reduced exposure to parasitic infections and to other pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms (and their products). Such infections usually promote the normal development of immune responses (with a bias towards TH1 cells rather than TH2 cells) and favour the development of appropriate control of potentially harmful immune responses by various populations of regulatory T cells. However, as exposure to infections is reduced, and exposure to certain otherwise harmless environmental allergens is increased, there is a propensity for genetically predisposed individuals to develop TH2-cell-type responses to a variety of common environmental allergens.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the hygiene hypothesis continue to be explored but there can be no doubt that the recent marked increase in allergic disorders reflects recent changes in the interactions between the external environment and those individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop allergic diseases.

Yep, we always had pets when I was a kid, and we were outside every single summer day, and a good part of the winter. Baths were not an everyday thing, and Ivory soap was the only "hand sanitizer" around. Let those kids play in the dirt!

my pain is below the knee on the left side (left knee) about halfway down my leg, which from what I have gathered is the Patella tendon.

No. The lower end of the patella tendon is just below the patella. Sounds more like a tibialis anterior (TA) muscle strain, as Anne Elks says.

Or it could be shin splints, although shin splint pain is usually along the inside of the shinbone.

TA compartment syndrome is less common than TA strain, but you might want to rule it out. The test uses a hollow needle with pressure gauge after the muscle is tighten per treadmill. I had a very bad case of TA CS that I lived with for years, assuming it to be a strain. It eventually crippled me. Bilateral fasciotomy surgery cured it 100%. I wish I would have gotten the diagnosis and had surgery years earlier.

Chief Joseph wrote:

"The main symptom of patellofemoral arthritis is pain. Because the patellofemoral joint is in front of the knee, you may have pain in this area."

PF OA can manifest in pain in other areas, e.g., back of knee from bone spurs digging into soft tissue or referred pain radiating downward along the shin.

Or it could be shin splints, although shin splint pain is usually along the inside of the shinbone.

I meant to mention that many people erroneously refer to t. anterior strain as "shin splints", which, as you point out, isn't the same thing. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it, as they do with many things medical. Compartment syndrome is pretty extreme - you must have been a pretty intense exerciser, Steve. The photos of same online (in process of being surgically relieved) are kinda gruesome.

Well, as long as we're discussing what helps injuries, I'll ask about anyone's experiences or opinions in dealing with "trigger finger".

I think I caused it a couple years ago by reaching for, and grabbing a rock, then falling, and catching myself, and felt a tendon pull all the way from my finger up through the bicep to my shoulder. OW!

Now a couple years later, right ring finger "sticks when opening the fist, and I'm trying to avoid surgery if at all possible. Any ideas for recovery without having the pulley cut??

--------------"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology

Moonspots - there's not necessarily a connection between that incident and what you're experiencing now. Check out the Wikipedia entry for it - more often than not it's caused by some chronic overuse situation. I've developed it in my middle finger, and it started over a year after I stopped 20 years of using my hands a lot in my work. Go figure. It only seems to kick in if I make a very tight fist - the finger works ok under normal circumstances. It's never painful and doesn't interfere with daily activities. Another gruesome surgical illustration in that article - I'd never do it unless the problem really interfered with doing stuff.

Moonspots, Anne, that sounds similar to what I have, mostly had. If I squeezed or grabbed too hard with my hand, my middle finger would stick in a partially flexed position. It was very hard and painful to straighten it. Don't remember how it started. Sometimes it was hours till I could straighten it. Seemed like it would just loosen on it's own. Occasionally I could manually pull it out/straighten but usually had to just wait. That was years ago. Now it happens very rarely. Aside from trying to relax my hand I don't know how to address it. When it first happened, I remember thinking I didn't want it to get triggered while climbing or scrambling. Time , years seems to have helped, perhaps self massage, stretching....

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